The one above, "The Rockefeller" looks EXACTLY like "Kew Garden" by Paul Montgomery. (scroll up). When I was saving images at first I thought I saved the same one twice! I guess Montgomery designed these digital wallpapers then.

The one below looks like "Callaway" by Montgomery. (scroll up 4 images to compare!)

"White House" by Et Cie

The whole digital set about would cost about $1000 vs 1 panel for $1000.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Macarons... Part Deux.

A Martha Stewart macarons magazine and " 'lette macaron" shop review!

My new issue of Martha Stewart arrived today, and to my delight macarons were featured on the cover! Macarons are one of my favorite things, I wrote a whole post about macarons which you can see here.

First, Martha Stewart Magazine March 2014 issue:

Eye candy!

Add caption

Of course, in Martha Stewart style, she makes her macarons from scratch. I mean, you blanch your own almonds and then grind them yourself. I prefer to buy almond flour instead of make my own! Macaron making is already difficult enough!

Below, she has suggestions for flavors and fillings. She has (clockwise, from top left) chocolate hazelnut filling, espresso, rose raspberry, vanilla bean, and mint chocolate.

the different flavors

For the recipe, I recommend this recipe she has on her website, as you don't have to make your own almond flour.

After seeing this beautiful cover, it reminded me that I meant to write a review of 'lette macarons.

'lette macarons... a review.

'lette macarons is a macaron shop located in Southern California. They have several locations, the original in Beverly Hills. They have another at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, one in Glendale, Larchmont Village, and Pasadena.

official picture

I visited the shop at Fashion Island. When you walk in your a greeted with a whole counter of macarons. The store is cool... macarons will melt if it's too hot!

fuzzy cell phone picture!

They have 12 flavors everyday with 3 seasonal flavors. They of course box them up in cute boxes. For macaron cookies, presentation is half the joy!

Monday, February 17, 2014

I had been craving a good fresh pretzel for a while. After a bit of time, I finally have an excellent authentic German pretzel recipe to share! I made pretzel bites with it as it is a little easier, but the same recipe will do for pretzels too!

Instructions

1. Add yeast to warm water. Let it settle for about 5 minutes. Then add the sugar and salt to the yeast and mix in.
2. Add the yeast, sugar, and salt mixture to the flour. Mix together. I used the dough hook on my kitchenaid and mixed for about 5 minutes on speed #2. Let dough rest for 30 minutes.
3. Cut dough into about 5-6 equal parts. Roll out on a clean surface. Don't need to flour the surface, the dough shouldn't stick. Roll the dough in a line until it is about 1 inch in diameter. Cut 1.5-2 inch pieces and place on a lined baking sheet.
4. Place the baking sheet uncovered in the fridge for approx. 1 hour. This is key. This helps build a skin making it have that nice crust.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
6. Bring 2 quarts of water to boil. SLOWLY add in baking soda into the boiling water little bits at a time. *caution* this creates quite a bubbly reaction for a few seconds so stand back and don't get burned! It will eventually simmer down after a few seconds. Then add more. You have been warned!
7. Add the pieces of dough into the soda bath. Let it sit for about 10-20 seconds and then remove. I used a pasta server to remove it and found it to be the perfect tool.
8. Sprinkle with coarse salt (I like mine unsalted, so I didn't). Bake the pretzels for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Move to a cooling rack. Grab some honey mustard, nacho cheese, or a slice of cheese and enjoy!

The traditional German recipe calls for a bath made of lye (yes, lye!!). The baking soda is a safer alternative. It tastes *almost* as good. I'm not willing to go playing around with lye just to make my own pretzel. Go figure, the real German pretzel is dangerous to make.

Letting the dough rest in the fridge allows a nice skin to form which is key.

You can use this recipe to make pretzel shapes. Just row out about 20 inches of dough and then fold.

Some recipes call for an egg wash prior to baking. I tested the pretzel bites with and without an egg wash. I honestly couldn't tell a difference in appearance or in taste. Obviously not needed!

They have a whole bunch of goodies in the cabinet. The far right contains the baked pastries. The left is the refrigerated cakes.

We chose several items.

#1. The Chocolate, Caramel, and Vietnamese Cinnamon Cube Cake.

This was what was featured on the show. And rightly so! It is divine! The outside is actually spray-painted with chocolate, that's why it looks so perfect!

A look at the inside of this cube cake... it is a nice fluffy chocolate on the outside. The middle has a layer with cinnamon. And the bottom is this yummy crunchy caramel crust. My only complaint is that the crust isn't big enough! It needed to go all the way to the outside.

#2. Next up, the Caramelized Hazelnut Financier. It was GOOD. I mean, you could eat like 5 of these.

If you don't know, a "Financier" is a type of "Petit Gâteau". It is a type of little French cake and it is made with almond flour. It isn't quite as sweet as the traditional American cake. It is most similar to the pound cake.

Wow. This was seriously delicious. It's like a hot chocolate, but hot... caramel. I've never had one before. It was just... good. It was a small espresso shot size, not too overpowering with sweetness.

Okay. Well there ya go. Now I just need to figure out how to make my own hot sipping caramel.

Or... I could just go visit the bakery again.

My one and only complaint: parking is nearly impossible to find. If you can walk, bike, or take a bus to the Mission District in SF, it's probably a lot easier!

Now visit Craftsman and Wolves Instagram and look at some of their pretty pictures!

Monday, February 3, 2014

One of the things I love about Valentine's Day is the use of the color pink. Pink is one of my favorite colors to wear so I am happy to see it widely used!

I made this pretty Valentine's day tablescape. I would have set it up for a table for two for my husband and I... but it looked so silly with only two place settings on such a big table I set it up for four just for looks.

A look during the daytime. I used some vintage Valentine's Day printouts I found online. The heart cups my mother-in-law gave us at our rehearsal dinner!

Welcome!

Peonies & Orange Blossoms is a decor and lifestyle blog about European-influenced decor, fashion and travel. Follow us as we build our dream French Country House. Oh, did I mention I love French pastries? Bisous, Angelina

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